Details in the Fabric
by YupSureDid
Summary: This wasn't the way that Sectionals was supposed to go. Newly edited. /Puckleberry-ish/
1. Sectionals

**Author's Note**: I have no idea where Sectionals took place so I kept it in Ohio and we're going to pretend it was held in Columbus. Also, I'm letting Mr. Schue attend Sectionals because I didn't understand why he couldn't go watch them even if he wasn't their adviser or what have you. I wasn't sure what kind of car Rachel had, so I inserted my own. This was originally written on 2/6/10 and was edited on 7/29/11. Also, I apologize in advance. You'll know why.

**_Details in the Fabric_**

"No. No, no, no. No. No, no."

That was the first thought to pop into Rachel's mind that Saturday morning. And the second. And the third. It was _Saturday_ morning and her alarm clock was not blaring in her ear like it was supposed to be. Rachel held her breath and slowly turned her head towards the clock.

'_Please say 5:59, please say 5:59, please say 5:59_,' she chanted to herself. She knew it was a futile attempt, after all she could see the bright sunlight streaming in through her bedroom window, but she opened one eye to peek at her alarm clock anyway. 8:15 am. "Oh shit!" She couldn't stop herself from yelling as she threw the covers onto the floor.

"Daddy! Dad?" She called in a panicked voice as she vaulted herself down the stairs. Her fathers emerged from the study with confused looks on their faces.

"Rach! What on earth are you still doing here? We assumed you left hours ago!"

"I overslept," her shrill voice cried out as she desperately raked a comb through her hair. "Did anyone call yet? Did they leave without me?" Her eyes were wide with panic and without waiting for an answer, she grabbed her keys off of the hook in the hallway and ran out of the front door, her multiple bags of cosmetics, toiletries, and costumes bouncing against her as she ran to her car.

**-G-**

"Will, shouldn't she have been here at least an hour ago?" Emma asked uncertainly. Will rubbed his eyes and snuck a glance at the rest of his Glee club, sleepily leaning against the bus that was set to take them to Sectionals. Rachel was nowhere to be found, the one student who should have been there at least 30 minutes before the required 8 am arrival time. It was already 8:33 and she wasn't answering her cell phone.

"Well guys, it looks as if Rachel is running late. I think we should head on out, and I'll keep trying her cell phone on the way. Hopefully she or one of her dads will be willing to drive her out to Columbus to meet us at the Buckeye Auditorium."

"Hopefully!" Mercedes yelled, outraged. "If that girl doesn't show up, what are we supposed to do? We won't be able to compete!"

"Well...I guess we will cross that bridge if we come to it," Mr. Schue replied uneasily. He was thinking the exact same thing himself.

Making comments about how Rachel just _had_ to throw one last diva moment in to keep everyone on their toes, the 10 present Glee members, plus Jacob Ben Israel standing in for Finn, all filed onto the bus. Once everyone was accounted for, Mr. Schuester dialed. As the bus pulled out of the parking lot, he listened as Rachel's voice mail clicked on once again.

**-G-**

"I can make it, I can make it, I can make it," she repeated. She drove with her left hand as her right hand dug around in her purse that currently rested on the center console. The phone charger was in there somewhere she just had no idea where. Of course her phone had died as she was pulling out of her driveway, but hopefully there would be a plug on the bus so that she could charge her cell on the way to Sectionals. Daddy would be extremely mad at her to know she was not only going 7 miles over the speed limit, but driving with no usable cell phone as well. However, desperate times call for desperate measures, and the possibility of missing Sectionals was most certainly a desperate time, according to Rachel Berry. She knew there was no way they would leave without her, she was their lead and club captain after all, it was just a matter of how pissed off they were going to be at her for showing up 45 minutes late. She tapped her hand impatiently as she neared the second to last intersection before she came to McKinley High School. Seeing that the light was green up ahead, she didn't brake.

"Yes!" she cheered about her luck as she stepped on the accelerator and flew toward the intersection. She looked down as her hand finally closed around her cell phone charger.

Suddenly she heard the sound of someone laying on their horn, and then the screech of tires and the shockingly loud sound of metal crashing into metal all in rapid succession. Rachel's head slammed into her window and then it shattered, showering her in shards of glass. She felt her empty stomach churn as her car spun in the middle of the intersection and then abruptly come to a stop, causing her body to lurch towards the passenger seat, one arm flung haphazardly over her face. There were a few seconds of deafening silence, and then Rachel's eyes closed.

**-G-**

Finn paced nervously in the greenroom as the rest of the Glee club looked over the sheet music he had surprised them with. Ms. Pillsbury came up behind him and gave him a friendly smile.

"We're all really glad you came, Finn," she said softly.

"I'm glad I came too Ms. Pillsbury, but where the heck is Rachel? We can't do this without her," he said softly, his voice laced with concern.

**-G-**

The intersection of Chapel Street and Caputo Avenue was a mess. Glass littered the street, a bumper lay unacknowledged on the sidewalk, and urgent voices rang out every so often. The police department was the first to respond, but there was only so much that they could do. A young cop, still in his first year on the job, was already crouched in the back seat of Rachel's car, attempting to administer whatever first aid he could. He had bandaged the worst cut on her head and placed a brace around her neck, but she was trapped in the inverted car until the Jaws of Life arrived. Due to the awkward angle he was at all he could do now was offer comforting words that fell on deaf ears. She hadn't regained consciousness yet.

As soon as the first ambulance arrived on the scene, an officer directed them to the small Jetta that no longer resembled a car of any kind. The fire department had started to work on tearing apart the sedan a few minutes earlier, and it was just a matter of time until the bystanders looked on as the tiny, limp body of a young girl was pulled from the wreckage. The young officer climbed out of the car with a purse in his hands. He began rifling through it, looking for a wallet or identification of some kind. He finally found what he was looking for and went to his car to radio in the contact information.

The driver of the truck that hit Rachel was sitting on the curb, and he watched in horror as he finally got a look at the other driver. He burst into sobs; his face falling into his hands after his eyes had spotted the bloodied girl. His daughter sat, her arm around his shoulders, quietly murmuring words into his ear. An officer walked up to the distraught elderly man and knelt in front of him.

"Sir, I think you should go to the hospital in the other ambulance. I know you don't feel injured but..." his voice trailed off as he met the sad eyes of the man's daughter. He knew now, after all of his initial questioning, that she had been following her father's truck and had seen the entire thing play out in front of her eyes.

"Daddy?" She whispered, turning toward the most loving man she had ever known, "I think it's best if you go. You've had quite a shock, and with your heart..."

"How can I be concerned about me?" He sobbed, heartbroken. "I just killed a little girl! I should _never_ have been driving. You've been trying to tell me and I've been so stubborn and now look! _**Look what I did**_!"

"Sir, as far as I know, she's still alive. She isn't conscious, but she is alive," the officer offered. "I know this is a terrible experience, but it is my duty to look out for you as well, even if you don't want me to."

Shaking uncontrollably and breathing heavily, the man finally agreed.

Somewhere in the Berry household, a phone began to ring.

**-G-**

"She had all weekend to hide, but she should have come to meet us to face the music! She cost us our chance at Regionals and unless she has two broken legs there is no excuse good enough!"

Mr. Schuester stood in the doorway of the choir room and tried to steady his breathing. He listened as 11 members of his Glee club bashed the one member who could have saved them at Sectionals, but never showed up. It broke his heart to hear the anger and accusation in their voices, instead of the worry and concern that would have been in Rachel's over the absence of one of them. Cautiously, Emma put a hand on his back, urging him forward.

"All I know is when that chick finally decides to show her face at this school again, Glee is** not** giving her a warm welcome," Mercedes said with a flip of her hair. Kurt cleared his throat and motioned towards the door, effectively shushing everyone as Mr. Schue made his way into the classroom. Silently, the teenagers took in his red and swollen eyes and awkwardly tried to avoid his gaze. Jacob Ben Israel had caught Mr. Schue and Ms. Pillsbury kissing in the hallway after Sectionals and had immediately uploaded a new blog about what had happened between them. Everyone, teachers included, had given him a wide berth all day and the Glee club had already decided that they would not acknowledge his marriage troubles. When they realized that Ms. Pillsbury seemed to be on the verge of tears as well, they started to wonder what exactly was going on.

'_It's hard not to pity the poor guy_,' Artie thought to himself as he turned his chair around to give his full attention to his favorite teacher. Mr. Schue pulled a chair up to the cluster of students and rested his hands on his knees. He wasn't quite sure how to do this.

"We don't need a pep talk, Mr. Schue. We need someone to get Ms. Berry in here so we can smack some sense into her for her extremely unacceptable diva fit on the day of Sectionals. I mean what was she thinking!" Kurt burst out.

Mr. Schue cleared his throat and Puck could swear his eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, Puck knew that whatever he was about to hear was going to change all of their lives forever.

"Guys...I don't know how to tell you this," Will started, his voice breaking. He stood up from the chair and paced for a second before coming back to the group.

Quinn placed a comforting hand on the emotional teachers forearm and gave him a reassuring pat, inwardly rolling her eyes at the drama that stupid Jewish pain-in-the-ass was creating. Suddenly Mr. Schue sat, took a deep breath and in one sentence, changed everything.

"Rachel is gone, guys."

"Where did she go?" Finn asked, confused. Mr. Schue rubbed his eyes and decided that unfortunately, blunt had to be the way to go.

"I'm sorry," he started, hoping to soften the blow. "Rachel was in a really terrible car accident on Saturday morning."

No one said anything. No one moved. Finally, Santana scoffed.

"Was this announced on her MySpace? God, that girl will pull anything."

Tina nervously pulled at the collar of her sweater. "That's all this is, right Mr. Schue? Rachel is being a drama queen? Right?"

"She was trying to make it to meet us before the bus left. Her dad told me she was running really late, and she was going a little bit over the speed limit. The driver that hit her..." his voice started to waver, "he was an elderly man who shouldn't have been driving and he ran a red light...she hit her head pretty badly. I just got off the phone with her fathers. She never woke up and...," he swallowed over the lump in his throat, "Rachel passed away about an hour ago."

**Author's Note 2**: Well, I know I didn't warn you, but don't say I didn't apologize! I would love to hear thoughts. Thanks for reading!


	2. Aftermath

**Author's Note**: I'm basing this off of how high school worked back in my day, haha. Unfortunately, that includes the way in which we were informed of a student's passing, as well as the procedures my school took in those times. It's kind of funny...well not funny, but as I wrote this I remembered that my homeroom teacher in all four years of high school was Mr. Berry. Weird, huh? Also, I am not Jewish so I based the funeral and whatnot off of the research I did online. If anything is inaccurate, please let me know and I will fix it ASAP. Also, I believe the names of Puck's mom and Rachel's dads are all unknown, correct? I went along with what everyone seems to dub Rachel's dads, but made up my own for Puck's mom. _Details in the Fabric_ is the amazing and beautiful work of Jason Mraz.

I just wanted to say thank you so, so much for all of the reviews and alerts. My other Glee story _And Then She Cried_ got few reviews and not nearly this many hits so I was a little hesitant about putting something else up. I'm very grateful for the response to this one, it meant a lot.

_**Details in the Fabric**_

The hustle and bustle of the hallways at school was a shock to the Glee club the next morning. They expected quiet, solemn students to be joining them in mourning a member of the McKinley High student body. That is not what they were greeted with as they walked sluggishly into the building. They slowly met up with their respective groups, and then headed to their appropriate homerooms as the first warning bell rang.

Artie and Tina entered their homeroom, and for the first time in weeks immediately took their places next to each other. Tina offered Artie a half-hearted, tearful smile and he gently took her hand in his as their teacher stood in the front of the room, a piece of paper in her hand. She took the required roll call and then began.

"As some of you may have heard by now, we have tragically lost a member of our school over the weekend. In order to avoid any rumors spreading, Mr. Figgins has asked the faculty to read the following announcement." She cleared her throat, shocked at how much she was affected by the loss of the most annoying student in her homeroom, and then she went on. "On Saturday morning, Rachel Berry, a sophomore here at McKinley High and a member of this very homeroom, was involved in a terrible car accident. She was most commonly known for her contributions to the Glee club, as well as her work in many other groups, clubs, and activities here. She was a straight A student with excellent attendance. She succumbed to her internal injuries in the hospital yesterday afternoon after never regaining consciousness. Arrangements have been made so that grief counselors are available to whoever feels they need to speak to someone, as well as the guidance counselors you all know already. There will be an assembly tomorrow to honor her memory during the B block of the day. Funeral arrangements will be announced at that time, for those of you who wish to pay your respects. You all may talk quietly for the rest of homeroom; it has been extended for 15 minutes."

Mrs. Baer went back to her desk and listlessly attempted to get her papers in order. She kept an eye on the kids, but she kept focusing on that one empty seat, the one directly in the center of the front row. Rachel was annoying. Yet in all of her 30 years of teaching English at McKinley, Anita Baer had never seen someone with so much promise. She was tiny and loud, as annoying as a mosquito in August, but that girl had the drive to succeed. It was so sad that she had been taken from this Earth before her time to shine. Just as she was about to pat a tissue to her own tear filled eyes, the sound of a sob caused her to raise her eyes in alarm. She instantly focused on Tina, and her heart pulled at the site of the girl crumpled against Artie, her body shaking as she tried to hold in another sob. She watched as Artie patted her back and whispered into Tina's ear through his own tears. She took a deep breath to calm herself and grabbed her tissues as she made her way over to the two mourning teenagers as the rest of the class sat in awkward silence, not understanding their grief. She knelt in front of them, and held out the tissues.

"You two are free to go, but please, if you need anything...please let me know," she said softly. Nodding, they gathered their things and quickly exited the room, glad to be free of the curious stares of their classmates.

As they walked aimlessly, subconsciously heading towards the music room, they were slowly joined by the rest of the gleeks. A few eyes were red rimmed, and Brittany and Tina were still sniffling, but it was quiet and comforting. No one said a word. As they walked through the hallway, they eventually came to Rachel's locker and they all stopped in shock. Someone had thrown a slushie at it. In fact, it looked like more than one someone. Quinn brought a hand to her mouth in horror, and quickly turned and ran down the hall.

"Who could have..." Kurt's voice trailed off as there was a loud bang as Puck slammed his knuckles into the adjoining locker.

"What the fuck," he growled. The bell signaling the end of homeroom rang and students began to pour from the hallway. Within seconds, Karofsky and his group of minions appeared in the hallway, snickering at the mess covering the locker. Without warning, all hell broke loose. Fists flew; grunts and groans of pain were heard. Swears and insults rang out as Finn, Puck, Matt, and Mike attacked the bullies in rage. Eventually Mr. Schuester and Coach Tenaka came and pulled the boys apart. Will took note of the slushie marking the locker and the puddle on the floor and immediately knew what had happened.

"_**Where is your respect**_?" Puck burst out. Karofsky merely laughed at the red faced, tear filled "jock" that he used to be afraid of.

"She died, man. She's _DEAD_," Finn yelled. "And you think it's alright to throw a slushie at her locker? What kind of person are you?"

Karofsky's grin finally faltered. He started to sputter as he took in the faces of the kids of the Glee club, the red eyes of Mr. Schuester and Ms. Pillsburry, who had walked up to the scene a moment earlier. There was shock and disgust in the eyes of the bystanders surrounding them.

"I...I didn't know," he said, shame coloring his words.

"How could you not know, Karofsky?" Santana sneered. "It was announced in all of the homerooms just minutes ago."

"I just got here...the slushie was the first thing I did..." his cheeks were tinged with red, and he rubbed his hands over his face, trying to get his bearings, but only succeeding in smearing the blood from his nose up to his eye. "I swear...I know I'm an asshole but...I didn't know," he pleaded. Mr Schuester finally nodded and Coach Tenaka released his hold on his arm.

"Let's go, all of you boys," he ordered.

As the boys filed away from the crowd of students, Quinn reappeared with a bucket in hand. Without a word, the Glee members reached for the rags and sponges she offered them and began to scrub off the slushie that was beginning to dry on the metal door. They glanced at each other in shock as a couple of Cheerios stepped in and began plastering Rachel's locker with star stickers that they had stolen out of Ms. Sylvester's office.

Sue Sylvester walked down the hallway during the next period and immediately spotted the locker that had once belonged to Rachel Berry. A couple of students stood in front of it, signing the door and placing flowers at the base of it. When she saw her stickers, she simply placed her hand against the cool metal for a brief moment. Ignoring the few students who stopped to watch her pay her respects, she walked away.

**-G-**

In the afternoon, the glee kids had gotten their lunches and then settled into the practice room, embracing the privacy and solidarity it provided. Many had been approached throughout the day with kind words from both students and teachers, but it was too little too late in their opinions. Just as they themselves were too little too late for Rachel as well. Mr. Schuester eventually found them and he pulled up a chair for himself and Ms. Pillsbury as everyone began to silently chew.

"Hey Puck," Kurt called out thoughtfully, "What happens next?"

Turning weary eyes away from Finn, he quirked an eyebrow.

"How the fuck am I supposed to know, Hummel? I've never known anyone that died before. You try to get over it," Puck replied, causing the gleeks to gape at his honesty.

"Well, it's just that you're Jewish. And Rachel is...was," Mercedes supplied for Kurt. "I don't think any of us know what to expect. We don't know what to do. What do we say to her fathers?"

"Oh," Puck replied dumbly. He ran a hand over his mohawk and put his can of soda down. He may not give two shits about being Jewish but his Ma taught him well, and he knew it had been a large part of Rachel's upbringing. "Well, it's not like a normal funeral. We don't do flowers and shit. There won't be a wake. The Hevra Kadisha will take care of the ceremony and stuff with the Berry's. They like...supervise everything to make sure that Rachel's, " he swallowed hard, "to make sure her body is treated with respect. She has to be dressed in a tachrichim, which is just white cloth I guess. She'll be in a casket."

Puck realized that everyone was staring at him attentively, with looks of interest mixed in with the sadness over the fact that they were learning about the process of burying someone they now knew was very near and dear to their hearts. He took a sip of his soda and continued.

"Before the funeral service, her dads will participate in the rite of K'riah, which means they will tear a part of their clothes that you can see, probably a pocket right over their heart. Anyone else in Rachel's family will tear their clothes on the right. They'll wear it through the entire shivah."

"I've heard of that," Matt chimed in. "That's the mourning period, right?" Puck nodded.

"It lasts for 7 days. Sometimes...sometimes the mourners wear a black ribbon instead." He quietly added, as he fingered the black ribbon currently wrapped around his right wrist. Quinn's eyes filled with tears as she noticed the ragged rips in each end of the ribbon.

"Would it be okay if we wore ribbons too?" She asked quietly. "I know we didn't act like it before but now...I feel like I've lost part of my family," she choked out. Brittany put her arm around Quinn's shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her shoulder.

"I think her parent's would really like that," Puck said.

Later that day, Puck approached each member of the Glee club with black ribbon, and he helped them tie it to their wrists and tear the edges the way he had. He later noted, as he caught sight of them throughout the remainder of the day, that they all wore them like a badge of honor. He knew Rachel would have been proud.

**-G-**

Mr. Figgins looked up from his paperwork when he heard a sniffle at his door. It was well passed school hours and he was surprised to see the sad and somber faces of Mercedes and Tina, who stood expectantly in the door frame.

"Girls," he said softly, laying his pen down, "Please, come in. I am so sorry for your loss. I know Glee club was full of Rachel's closest friends." He didn't notice the girls flinch at his words. "How may I help you?"

Taking a seat, Mercedes tried to compose herself but felt her chin quivering, so she motioned for Tina to speak.

"Mr Figgins, I know that there will be an assembly for Rachel tomorrow. I'm sure it's no surprise that we'd like to dedicate a song to her. We would really like it if we could do a special performance at the end."

He smiled at the girls warmly, "I couldn't think of anything Rachel would like more."

**-G-**

Puck adjusted his collar as he followed his mom up the walkway to the Berry household that night. He reached out as his mom turned to hand him the piping hot dish full of food. She knocked rapidly on the door and took a step back and fixed his kippah quickly before the door opened.

"Anne," one of Rachel's dads greeted them with a small smile. He nodded at Puck in recognition of his brief relationship with Rachel. "Please, come on in."

Puck followed awkwardly into the house and held out the dish once they were all situated in the foyer.

"Noah, manners!" His mom scolded, taking the dish and turning towards the kitchen.

"Leroy, I've made you some milchige luchshen kugel, it's an old family recipe. And there are some latkes just because...well, who doesn't like latkes, right?" She smiled warmly at him as he took the dish from her and placed it into the refrigerator.

"Thank you Anne, that is very kind. I don't think Hiram or I have eaten since...well I'm just not even sure the last meal I had," he admitted. Anne walked over to him and pulled him into a warm embrace.

"I am so, so sorry for your loss," she whispered.

Puck looked everywhere but at the grieving man hugging his mom and eventually decided to sneak out of the kitchen. He soon found himself in Rachel's bedroom. He inhaled deeply as he quietly stepped inside, and pushed the door shut behind him. He walked over to her bed and sat down, his fingers running over the lace detail on her duvet. Her room was a mess. Her bed wasn't even made, there were clothes thrown on top of every available surface of her room. Mr. Schuester was right. She had been rushing to make it to meet them. He had never seen her room look like this before. He wiped at his eyes until they didn't burn any more, and then he stood and slowly walked around her room. When he came to her desk, he stopped abruptly. Sitting next to her computer was an old slushie cup. The cup he had handed to her when he asked if she wanted to work on mash up ideas. He knew it was the same cup because there was a tiny crack at the very top because he had been gripping it so tightly. Rachel had written 'Rachel and Noah' surrounded by hearts along the lip of the cup. It was filled with loose change and random pens and pencils that he quickly dumped onto the desk. He held the cup in his hands, staring.

She had broken up with him weeks ago, but she had kept the stupid slushie cup. He slumped into her desk chair heavily and leaned forward, one elbow resting on his knees, his hand supporting his chin. He stared at the cup lost in thought until he heard someone clear their throat. He looked up, startled, and saw Rachel's other dad standing in the doorway. He realized, to his embarrassment, that there were tears spilling down his cheeks. He turned away from him and tried to surreptitiously wipe the tear tracks from his face. He saw Hiram's eyes land on the ribbon around his wrist, and he lowered his gaze, his heart pounding heavily in his chest.

"Come on, son," Hiram said quietly, "Let's go have some kugal."

Puck stood and turned to put the cup back down on the desk but Hiram stopped him.

"Keep it," he said softly. "And here," he entered the room and rifled in Rachel's top drawer for a minute before pulling out a picture of the two of them, taken at the only Berry -Puckerman family dinner they had had before Rachel ended things.

The two men left the room, shutting the door softly behind them.

**-G-**

Kind words were said about Rachel the next day. Various teachers spoke, Mr. Schuester included, and Mr. Figgins spoke a few words as well. As the assembly came to a close, the Glee kids rose from their seats and climbed the stairs onto the auditorium stage. The lights were dimmed and 11 stools were brought out for the kids to sit on. Everyone sat except for Finn, who stood and looked out at the students filling the auditorium.

"Rachel was a better person than any of you could ever hope to be," he started, causing Mr. Schuester to jump up from his seat in alarm. "But no matter how much you all tried to bring her down, she knew who she was and she knew what she deserved. So we dedicate this song to her, and to everything she would have been. We miss you more than you know, Rach." He took a step back and sat, the music beginning to fill the room as Puck strummed his guitar, and began to sing.

_Calm down_

_Deep breaths_

_And get yourself dressed instead_

_Of running around_

_And pulling on your threads and_

_Breaking yourself up_

_If it's a broken part, replace it_

_If it's a broken arm then brace it_

_If it's a broken heart then face it_

Their voices came together as they all joined in for the chorus.

_And hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_Hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_And everything will be fine_

Puck and Kurt sang, the rough and the smooth sound of their voices blending together.

_Hang on_

_Help is on the way_

_Stay strong_

_I'm doing everything_

_Hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_Hold your own_

_Know your name_

_And go your own way_

_And everything_

_Everything will be fine_

_Everything_

The girl's took the next round, their voices thick with emotion.

_Are the details in the fabric_

_Are the things that make you panic_

_Are your thoughts results of static cling_

_Are the things that make you blow_

_Hell, no reason, go on and scream_

_If you're shocked it's just the fault_

_Of faulty manufacturing_

_Everything will be fine_

_Everything in no time at all_

_Everything_

_Hold your own_

_Know your name_

_Go your own way_

The girl's voices echoed softly in the background as the boys finished with the final few verses.

_Are the details in the fabric (Hold your own, know your name)_

_Are the things that make you panic_

_Are your thoughts results of static cling (Go your own way)_

_Are the details in the fabric (Hold your own, know your name)_

_Are the things that make you panic (Go your own way)_

_Is it Mother Nature's sewing machine_

_Are the things that make you blow (Hold your own, know your name)_

_Hell no reason go on and scream_

_If you're shocked it's just the fault (Go your own way)_

_Of faulty manufacturing_

_Everything will be fine_

_Everything in no time at all_

_Hearts will hold_

Without waiting for a response, the Glee club rose from their seats and exited the auditorium. The applause that broke out seconds after they left was near deafening.

**-G-**

Late that afternoon, family and friends of Rachel Berry gathered at the synagogue that she and her family belonged too. Everyone took their seats and listened as the Rabbi led them in the chanting of psalms and Eyl Malei Rahamim. There was a hesped to honor Rachel, and at the end of the service her fathers stood and called forward the young men that they had visited in person the day before.

Mr. Schuester had been nothing if not shocked when he saw Rachel's fathers standing in the doorway of his office the previous afternoon. When they had asked if he'd be willing to act as a pallbearer for their daughter, he was honored and moved to tears. The boys of the Glee club reacted in much the same way.

As Will, Finn, Puck, Matt, Mike, and Kurt stood and walked to the casket, Rachel's father began to sob. Slowly, more and more eyes filled with tears as they listened to the grief of a heartbroken man. The pall was placed over Rachel's casket, and they then gently lifted it and started to walk down the aisle. Anne's heart clenched at the sight of her son doing his best to be a man, pulling himself to his full height as his hand gripped the handle of the casket. She could see the disconnected look in his eyes, the way his chest heaved as he forced himself to breath in and out. It was when his eyes met hers for the briefest second that her tears spilled down her cheeks. Her son's heart was shattered into a million pieces and she had no idea how she was going to fix it.

As the casket passed down the aisle, the attendants of the funeral filed out of their rows and followed the path that the pallbearers took. Along the way, the walk stopped the required seven times on their journey to grave site. Keeping in tradition, the casket was soon lowered into the earth and the grave filled, until a mound was formed over the casket. The Kaddish was recited at the grave after k'vurah was completed. There were a few minutes of silence as the mourners took in the sight of Rachel's final resting place. Slowly, they began to form two rows, and then Leroy and Hiram led the rest of the family, Glee club included, through aisle to receive the condolences of the other attendants.

And then it was over. Rachel Berry was gone.

**-G-**

It had been three weeks since Rachel had passed away. Things were slowly getting back to normal. The flowers and stuffed animals under Rachel's locker had been given to her family, but the stickers remained. Not a single person had been slushied since news of Rachel's death had come out. The Glee club was closer than ever, and they still met for rehearsals as they did before. However, not a single note had been sung since the assembly. As the gleeks sat around, some doing homework, some gossiping, some staring off into space, Mr. Schuester cleared his throat.

"Does anyone feel like practicing today?" He asked tentatively. Everyone stayed silent, avoiding his gaze. He sighed, relieved, as he sat down and resumed grading papers. He didn't want to practice either.

Puck toyed with the ribbon around his wrist. It was slightly frayed now, but it wasn't going anywhere. He didn't plan on letting it go anytime soon, either.

"It's just not the same. Rachel is gone. She was our talent and our drive and our reason to be better. She was our reason to be anything at all. Even if we hated it and we didn't give her the credit for it, she was this club. What's the point? Even if she wasn't the only real talent that we had, none of us care anymore. None of us care about Regionals or beating Vocal Adrenaline or any of it. I just want her back," he finished weakly. He rubbed his eyes and stood up, avoiding the gaze of everyone else.

"It's time to stop fooling ourselves," Artie agreed.

"I think Glee club is over, Mr. Schue," With one last glance at everyone, Puck left the room.

No one had the heart to disagree with him. He was right.

**Author's Note 2**: Hope you enjoyed! Well, I'm sure I made a few people cry, so sorry for that, but I hope it was worth it! Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

**WARNING: The final chapter is an ALTERNATE ENDING. It may or may not take away from the impact of the first two chapters if you do NOT enjoy a happy ending. BE WARNED!**


	3. Alternate Ending

**Author's Note**: Thank you all so, so, so much for the wonderful response to the previous chapters. Without further adieu, here is the unexpected third and DEFINITELY final chapter. You're welcome. **DO NOT READ IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO SEE A HAPPY ENDING!**

_**Details in the Fabric**_

Anne lay in her bed, blissfully content to rest for a few more minutes after hitting her snooze button. She rolled on her side, away from the bright window, and then suddenly stilled her movements. After listening carefully for a moment, she quickly got out of bed and rushed into Noah's room. As she entered, a look of concern immediately crossed her features. She shuffled her slippers over to the bed and sat gently, trying to nudge her son awake. A second later, Noah flailed his arm so violently that she was almost knocked off of the bed. He whimpered and rolled onto his side, a frown etched on his face.

"Noah, wake up. Noah. Bubbie!" Anne started out calling his name softly and patting his cheek, but soon found herself gripping his arms tightly and shouting in his face.

"NOAH, WAKE UP!" Finally, he jerked up from the pillow with a start, his eyes darting around the room wildly.

"Honey, calm down, it's Mommy. It was just a nightmare, it's okay now. The boogey man is gone, baby. Calm down," she murmured as she ran her fingers through his hair. He continued panting as he gained his bearings, Puck relaxed against the pillow and took a deep breath. His mom eyed him warily.

"Do you want to talk about it, bubbeleh?"

He immediately rolled his eyes at her nickname. His heart was still pounding in his chest but he was slowly calming down. "I'm fine, Ma. I'm going to go back to sleep."

"Do you really think that's a good idea, hon? It's already 7:15; shouldn't you just get up and shower? You don't want to miss the bus for Sectionals."

Puck's mouth dropped open in shock.

"What did you just say?"

His mother laughed and patted his head affectionately. "You told me you have to be at school by 8, right? That's when everyone is meeting to get on the bus? So you might as well just get up and shower now, at least that way you can get a full breakfast instead of grabbing a pop tart on your way out, yeah?"

Without realizing the impact her words had made, she kissed him on the forehead and left the room, shutting the door behind her with a soft click. He lay back on his pillow and stared up at his ceiling in shock. A second passed before he flung himself out of bed and ripped open his closet door. He looked at Carmen Electra in shock. Her calendar stated, clear as day, that Sectionals was today. Which meant...

"Rachel is okay. It never happened. She never..." His voice trailed off. He glanced at his clock and then barreled into the bathroom.

-G-

Hiram Berry eyed his husband curiously as there was a sudden, frantic knocking at their front door.

"Do you know who that is?"

"I have no idea," Leroy answered, placing his newspaper aside as he stood up and stretched. He quickly exited the office made his way into the foyer and pulled open the front door, shocked to see a panic stricken Noah Puckerman on his doorstep.

"What's the matter?" Leroy asked, alarmed.

"Where's Rachel? Did she leave yet?"

"I thought she did, but..." He didn't finish his sentence as Puck pushed passed him and rushed up the stairs. He threw open Rachel's door and nearly cried out in relief. There, frantically shoving a pair of black flats into a gym bag stood a disheveled Rachel Berry. At the sound of her door banging open, Rachel's head whipped around and her mouth dropped open in shock at the sight of her ex- boyfriend practically hyperventilating in her doorway.

"Wha-"

She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence as Puck crossed her room in about three seconds flat, took her face gently in his hands, and began to kiss her senseless. After a moment of blissful kissing, she finally unwrapped her hands from around his neck and gently pulled away from him.

"Hello, Noah." He smiled at her, genuine joy pouring off of him in waves. He released his hold on her and walked over to her desk, his eyes instantly landing on the object he was looking for. He dumped out the pens and coins and turned to Rachel, slushie cup in hand.

"Would you like to explain this?" He asked, a ghost of a smile pulling at his lips. Rachel grasped her hands in front of her and began knotting and unknotting her fingers.

"Well, it was just such a romantic gesture, you see, and one can really never have too many pens or pencils at their disposal and I just thought that it made a cute addition to the decor on my desk and..." Her voice trailed off as he twirled the cup so that the 'Rachel and Noah' was facing her.

"And this?" She huffed indignantly at the way his was looking at her, pure amusement dancing in his eyes.

"I wrote it when we were dating!" She squeaked out defensively. He smiled as her face slowly turned the shade of a tomato. He put the cup down and slowly walked towards her.

"I'm going to make this easy on you, Berry. I'll tell you why you kept the cup. You think I'm gooooorgeous. You want to daaaateee me. Love me and marryyy me." He sang the words, holding the notes at the end of each sentence just like he'd seen Sandra Bullock do.

"I'm going to regret making you watch that movie with me back when we were dating, aren't I?" She asked.

"Berry, if you say you'll be mine again, I'll watch that movie with you every day for the rest of our lives," he answered, his voice light but at the same time very serious.

Rachel was about to pull Puck to her for a much wanted kiss when suddenly her eyes shot open.

"What are we doing?" She exclaimed, "We're going to miss the bus for Sectionals. It's already 8:33 we're never going to make it, they'll leave without us!"

"Hey, hey calm down. I called them when I was on my way over and told them that we are on our way, just running late. Relax, we have time," he said soothingly, brushing her crazy bed head hair out of her face.

"Wait a minute...I'm Rachel Berry. How did you know that I was going to be running so late? _You _should be running late," she said accusingly. Puck's stomach seemed to drop to the floor as he remembered his dream from this morning.

"I just had a feeling," he finally answered. With that, he gathered her many bags and slung them over his shoulder. He held out his other hand and looked at her, his face serious.

"You never answered me, Rach. Can we give this another shot?"

She wrapped her tiny hand in his and smiled up at him.

"I've been dreaming about you saying that for weeks, Noah."

He placed a soft kiss on her lips, and then they headed out the door.

Sectionals went off without a hitch. Finn showed up, Rachel wowed the crowd, and everything was right in the world of Noah Puckerman.

**THE END! I MEAN IT THIS TIME!**

**Author's Note**: Well, everyone was SO MAD at me for killing Rachel that I felt really bad and decided to bribe you all into liking me again with this. You can consider THIS the final chapter, or you can consider Chapter 2 the final chapter if you don't want a happy ending. If you don't consider this the final chapter then...pretend you never read it. But thanks for reading it. Ha.


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